Samsung Galaxy phones have been around almost as long as Apple’s iPhone, and have been evolving ever since. These devices are more than just smartphones – they’re full of features and tools that help people stay productive, enhance creativity, indulge in hobbies, and just have fun.
Whether you’re new to Galaxy devices, or you’ve been using them for a while, here are some things you may not realize you can do with your phone.
1. Drop it
You probably shouldn’t go around dropping your phone on purpose – and if you’re going to buy the new Samsung Galaxy S25, you need a protective case – but if you accidentally drop a newer Samsung, it should hold up better than in the past. That’s because Samsung has started incorporating Corning’s Gorilla Glass into their devices. Gorilla Glass is exceptionally durable and resistant to scratches. Just like the S24 Ultra, the new Galaxy S25 will come with Gorilla Armor, which is even more durable than the original material.
2. Album sharing
Samsung has a Shared Albums feature that allows multiple people to collaborate on photo albums. This feature is ideal if you have family members who may want to contribute to family photo albums. Everyone you invite to a particular album can be granted permission to view and add/edit photos inside that album. This option is located in the photo album app under the hamburger menu.
You can invite up to 100 people to join each album directly or with a link. There’s also an option to create a link for others to view your albums without needing a Samsung account. However, users will need a Samsung device to be invited as an editor.
3. Cloud storage inside “My Files”
There is a built-in feature inside of My Files that will connect your device to Microsoft’s One Drive or Google Drive. Once connected, you’ll see your cloud account files inside of My Files, and you won’t need to open the individual Google Drive or One Drive apps to access them.
This feature also comes with a network storage option for connecting to servers through FTP and SFTP.
4. Bixby Vision
Bixby Vision offers automatic text translation with nothing more than a photo of the text. It will automatically detect the language and translate it into your preferred language. This feature has actually been around longer than Google Lens, and works really well. You can even scan wine bottles and get suggestions for food pairings.
Another cool capability is that you can take a photo of something and Bixby will find something similar on Pinterest. It’s a little hard to find, but you can access Bixby Vision at the top left of your camera screen.
5. Edge Panel features
With Galaxy’s Edge Panel feature, you can slide different panels from the side of the screen to get access to your favorite apps fast. This includes standard apps, like contacts, but also practical and useful features you might not even realize exist, like a compass and a ruler. The ruler feature is great for measuring small objects on the fly – you never know when it might come in handy.
6. Samsung Internet features
Inside Samsung Internet, there’s a feature called “Video Assistant” that many people haven’t taken advantage of yet. Using this feature, any video embedded into a web page can be brought into Samsung’s native video player, which gives you the ability to control that video using Samsung’s controls. For example, you can swipe on the right to change the volume and drag the scroll wheel anywhere across the screen. These features make it more convenient to watch videos online.
There’s also an option called “Background Player” that will play the audio from videos in the background when you navigate away from the browser window. This works even if the video you’re playing doesn’t do this naturally. Once you enable the background player, you can continue playing any video in the background while you perform other tasks.
Samsung Galaxy features are only going to improve
As with every new tech gadget, Galaxy phones are only going to get better as time goes on. Whether you use your device for photography, productivity, or daily work, there’s no doubt that Samsung will continue finding new ways to create a more powerful and dynamic user experience.